5 Amazing Facts About Ants

Posted September 2, 2015

Ants might be a real nuisance in the summer months but as pest control experts, you can’t help but admire the little blighters and what they’re capable of. They are a worthy foe and out of respect we thought we would share 5 amazing facts about ants with you!

Ants can carry up to 50 times their own body weight using their mandibles. In comparison to their size, ants have much thicker muscles than humans and large animals and this enables them carry large objects over distances.

Ants will enslave other ants, hold them captive and make them work for the colony. This is quite common across some species. In countries like Australia and Africa, honeypot ants will even enslave ants from the same species, kidnapping ants from other colonies to work for them!

Ants walked with the dinosaurs! Ants have been around for 130 million years with fossil evidence of ants being found in lumps of amber and fossilized plant resin.

Ants follow scent trails left by scout ants to gather food. Scout ants from the colony will go out in search of food and once found, they will return to the nest in a direct line, leaving pheromone trails behind. The foraging ants can then follow these trails and get to the food with ease.

There are 1.5 million ants on earth for every human being! With over 12,000 different species of ant across the world, pest control specialists will never be out of work.

Ants may be smart, but we’ve outsmarted them. Over the years we have dealt with hundreds of ant infestations and we know what chemicals and methods to use to get rid of ants and to prevent them from infesting again. If you’re experiencing an ant problem and would like our help, then please get in touch.